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Colors (film)
| music = Herbie Hancock | cinematography = Haskell Wexler | editing = Robert Estrin | distributor = Orion Pictures Corporation | released = April 15, 1988 (US) | runtime = 120 min. (original release) 127 min. (Director's Cut) | country = United States | language = English/Spanish | budget = $10 million | gross = $46,616,067 (domestic) }} Colors is a 1988 American police procedural action crime film starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall, and directed by Dennis Hopper. The film takes place in the gang ridden neighborhoods of 1980s' South Central Los Angeles, East Los Angeles and the LAPD Rampart Division, and centers on Bob Hodges (Duvall), an experienced Los Angeles Police Department CRASH officer, and his rookie partner, Danny McGavin (Penn), who try to stop the gang violence between the Bloods, the Crips, and Hispanic street gangs. Colors relaunched Hopper as a director 19 years after Easy Rider, and inspired discussion over its depiction of gang life and gang violence. Plot Two white cops, Bob "Uncle Bob" Hodges (Robert Duvall), a respected 19-year LAPD veteran, and rookie officer Danny McGavin (Sean Penn) have just been teamed together in the C.R.A.S.H. unit that patrols East L.A. and South central. The older cop is appreciated on the local streets. He is diplomatic on the surface, preaching "rapport" to gang members to encourage them to offer help when it is truly needed and recognizes that every action cops take is scrutinized by the very people they are trying to help. Hodges explains his view on policing to his young partner with a joke about bulls and cows. Although the pair bond quickly, life lessons are seemingly lost on the aggressive, cavalier McGavin, whose stunted actions soon bring him quick notoriety with the local gang members and the people themselves, such as attacking a graffiti artist by spraying his eyes with the paint can. When McGavin wrecks their first unmarked car during a pursuit, its replacement, painted a vivid yellow, results in McGavin being nicknamed "Pac-Man" by officers and gang members alike. McGavin also has a short lived romance with a waitress named Louisa (María Conchita Alonso) who, like the offended Hodges, feels the weight of the Pac-Man persona. Amidst the strains of these relationships, the murder of a Bloods gang member leads to a series of escalations between two other street gangs. A series of seemingly random incidents culminates in a plot that finds the two partners in the middle of the Crips, Bloods and Hispanic Barrio war. The 21st Street Gang, led by a criminal named Frog, attempts to negotiate a peace similar to Hodges and steer clear of the melee. To protect his partner, Hodges unwittingly exposes Frog as his source on the Crips leader Roccet (Don Cheadle) with his scheme to kill McGavin. Each group attempts to right the wrongs against their respective crews as police work to prevent the hit and stand their authority over the fall out. In the end, the unit moves in on the would-be last crew standing - the 21st Street Gang. While arresting Frog, Hodges is fatally shot by a gunman trying to enact the hit on McGavin. With medics en route, McGavin comforts Hodges and breaks down with regret as the elder partner falls into delirium and dies. Sometime later, a more conservative McGavin has a rookie partner, a black cop who grew up in the neighborhood where they patrol and sports an attitude similar to the "Pac-Man". McGavin tells him the same joke about the bulls that Hodges taught him, and the younger officer reciprocates in the same way as the younger McGavin did. The film ends with McGavin considering the cycle as the pair drive on and continue their patrol. Production The movie was filmed entirely in Los Angeles in 1987. The original script by Richard Di Lello took place in Chicago and was more about drug dealing than gang members. Dennis Hopper ordered changes, so Michael Schiffer was hired and the setting was changed to Los Angeles and the focus of the story became more about the world of gang members. The joke that Hodges tells McGavin regarding the two bulls was lifted from the Pat Conroy novel "The Great Santini" and explains how the character Lt. Col. "Bull" Meechum got his nickname.P. Conroy, "The Great Santini", 1989, pg. 394 Real gang members were hired as guardians as well as actors by producer Robert H. Solo. Two of them were shot during filming. On April 2, 1987, Sean Penn was arrested for punching an extra on the set of this film who was taking photos of Penn without permission. Penn was sentenced to 33 days in jail for this assault. Soundtrack A soundtrack containing mainly hip-hop music was released on April 15, 1988, by Warner Bros. Records. It peaked at 31 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified gold on July 12, 1988. Cast *Sean Penn as Officer Danny "Pac-Man" McGavin, Los Angeles Police Department *Robert Duvall as Officer Bob Hodges, Los Angeles Police Department *María Conchita Alonso as Louisa Gomez *Randy Brooks as Ron Delaney *Glenn Plummer as Clarence "High Top" Brown *Trinidad Silva as Leo "Frog" Lopez *Grand L. Bush as Larry "Looney Tunes" Sylvester *Don Cheadle as Roccet *Damon Wayans as T-Bone *Leon Robinson as Killer Bee *Romeo De Lan as Felipe *Gerardo Mejía as Bird *Mario Lopez as a 21st Street gang member *Karla Montana as Locita *Sy Richardson as O.S.S. Sgt. Bailey Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department *Courtney Gains as Whitey *Sherman Augustus as Officer Porter, Los Angeles Police Department *Rudy Ramos as Lieutenant Melindez, Los Angeles Police Department *Lawrence Cook as Officer Young, Los Angeles Police Department *R. D. Call as Officer Rusty Baines, Los Angeles Police Department *Clark Johnson as C.R.A.S.H. Officer Lee, Los Angeles Police Department *Jack Nance as Officer Samuels, Los Angeles Police Department Reception The movie received both praise and criticism. It holds a 79% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 29 reviews.http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1004485-colors/ Box office The movie earned over $46 million in its domestic release. References External links * * * * Category:1988 films Category:1980s action thriller films Category:1980s buddy films Category:1980s crime drama films Category:1980s gang films Category:1980s independent films Category:American action thriller films Category:American buddy cop films Category:American crime drama films Category:American films Category:American gang films Category:American independent films Category:Bloods Category:Crips Category:English-language films Category:Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Category:Films about racism Category:Films directed by Dennis Hopper Category:Films set in Los Angeles Category:Films shot in Los Angeles Category:Hood films Category:Neo-noir Category:Orion Pictures films Category:Police detective films Category:Spanish-language films Category:Sureños